This year, there are 600 seats available at the Tempe Center for the Arts for TEDxASU: Innovators, from 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. March 22.

TED is a world-renowned non-profit that hosts short, inspiring talks on nearly any topic. TEDx events are independently organized versions of the original.

Ammar Tanveer, an ASU graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology, is TEDxASU's founder and executive director. After learning a lot from hosting the event last year, he said this year's is bigger, better organized and more interactive.

A focus on the attendees

TED requires new TEDx hosts to attend an official TED event before allowing them to expand their event's size. Tanveer traveled to San Francisco last October to attend the TEDWomen conference, which completely changed his approach, he said.

"While ultimately TED talks are about the talks and the ideas in the talks, the events are so much more than that. They are a way to establish a community, a way to keep ideas flowing," Tanveer said.

The crowd at TEDxASU in 2016.(Photo: Ammar Tanveer/Special for The Republic)

For example, this year he's planning to let students present posters showcasing their research and entrepreneurship for an hour before the event, encouraging attendees to mingle with student innovators.

Ammar is organizing the event with three other ASU students: Jonathon Barkl, Hamza Amjad and Usamma Amjad.